Ruby Slippers
Origin Judy Garland, born Frances Ethel Gumm, was a renowned actress from the 1930's until her death in 1969. She has often been acclaimed as one of the best actresses of all time, known for her diverse roles and talent range. A singer, and a film and stage actress, Garland is known best by the MGM masterpiece The Wizard of Oz, wherein she played the main character, Dorothy Gale. Along with her fame she is also remembered for her troubled life off camera. Often being criticized and harassed by producers, agents, and directors, she developed a deep depression despite her enormous popularity. It was believed to have begun around the time of the filming of the Wizard of Oz. After Shirley Temple turned down the role that was intended for her, Garland stepped into the role. For decades she suffered from low-self worth and depression, even attempting suicide twice. Her string of marriages all ended in failure, and she was diagnosed with cirrhosis shortly before her death. Her death was ruled as an accidental death by overdoses of barbiturates. Curiously in Frank L. Baum's book "The Wizard of Oz", which the movie was based off of, Dorothy's slippers were silver, while the movie version had ruby colored slippers. Production wanted to take advantage of Technicolor by fully immersing viewers in a colorful world. Usage A rather vicious artifact, the ruby slippers seem to delight in causing others pain. When a possible victim is nearby, a maniacal cackling sound can be heard, and the shoes will click together by themselves. Only targeting young women, the shoes force the victim to place them on her feet. The user will then fall into a deep depression caused by feelings of self-loathing about her image. The wearer will also go through many doomed relationships, leaving her with a broken heart. She will become addicted to barbiturates, and attempt suicide until she succeeds through an overdose. To make matters worse, only the user may remove the shoes. Any other person trying to remove the shoes will be met with a hot shower of sparks, similar to the scene from the Wizard of Oz. Collection One of his first collections, Artie found this case difficult. After hearing of the attempted suicide of a female fan of Garland's, Artie investigated the case. Despite the lack of any previous mental health issues, the fan had spiraled into a depression and tried to kill herself in the same fashion Garland had died. Luckily she was found by her boyfriend and paramedics were called, saving her life. The odd thing about the case was that any time the doctors tried to remove the woman's shoes, they would emit a cascade of hot sparks, preventing them from being removed. Only the user could remove them. Artie was able to convince her to take them off by using Zhang Liang's Yellow Headband. Storage and Handling Stored in the Dark Vault. Neutralizer gloves are mandatory. ONLY MALE AGENTS ARE ALLOWED TO DIRECTLY HANDLE THIS ARTIFACT; however, the Slippers are sentient to a high degree, and while the females are heavily affected, males who handle the artifact have reported feeling depressed when directly handling the slippers. Before moving, presoak with fresh neutralizer, then quickly transfer the . This artifact will fight the neutralizer, and the agent has about ten seconds to transfer the artifact from its pedestal to the container. DO NOT STORE NEAR SYLVIA PLATH'S TYPEWRITER! Category:Baboonfan Category:Artifact Category:The Dark Vault Category:Canon Artifacts Category:Relinquished Artifacts Category:Warehouse 13